“The swine industry is North Carolina’s second most important agricultural industry, worth close to $2 billion annually. The Swine Research Unit includes a 250-sow indoor commercial hog-rearing environment, as well as a hoop barn, and a pastured hog operation for small-scale or limited-resource farmers making the transition to hog farming from tobacco or other crops.” – from University Farm website.

There are lots of discussions of sustainable uses of spent grain a byproduct of brewing – but the primary use is animal feed on farms. The grain starts out as dry malt then is used as the primary ingredient in the brewing process. NC has a rapidly growing brewing industry.

Pig Pounder Brewery – Brew House

NC A&T spends $50,000-$60,000 per year on feed in their Swine Program. In some rough calculations in a meeting with the University, we determined that this could save the farm up to $15,000-20,000 per year. Pig Pounder would provide the spent grain free of charge to the University.

That grain has an interesting story including a UNC connection as well. We purchase our malt from Thomas Fawcett & Sons in the UK. They’ve been malting grain since the late 1700s.

Thomas Fawcett & Sons

Floor Malting at Thomas Fawcett & Sons

On a trip to the UK to do research for the Pig Pounder Brewery and our Marshall Free House gastropub – we had the opportunity to meet the owner James Fawcett. We were surprised to learn that James is a UNC alum having graduated in 1988.

So the farm raised pigs at the UNC System NC A&T University Farm may eat feed that originates as grain in the UK malted by Fawcett (UNC class of ’88), then used in making beer at a brewery owned by Kotis (UNC ’91), brewed by Director of Operations Sam Rose (UNC-Asheville ’07) and marketed by Jenna Lumtscher (ECU ’07).

So UNC pigs may get fat and alums might get slaughtered! (UK slang for drunk)